Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Chris Stewart, left, tags out Detroit Tigers' Hernan Perez (26) who was attempting to score on a single by Rajai Davis in the fifth inning of an exhibition baseball game in Lakeland, Fla., Tuesday, March 4, 2014. Making the call on the play is umpire Shaun Lampe, center. The Pirates won 5-2. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Here's a look at the biggest storylines from around the league as Major League Baseball teams continue Cactus and Grapefruit league play:

Expanded replay put through its paces

Baseball is getting an early look at the expanded replay system that will take full effect once the regular season begins. The system, which previously could be used only to determine if a batted ball was a home run or not, has now been expanded to include most calls other than balls and strikes.

The system was first implemented on Monday in three Spring Training stadiums and it didn't take long for a manager to challenge a play. The first challenge came in a game between the Blue Jays and Twins on a close play at first base that was eventually upheld.

The review took two minutes, 34 seconds -- about twice as long as MLB officials would like -- and umpires didn't have access to the multitude of camera angles that will be available for all games once the regular season begins. Nevertheless, it was a momentous occasion and signaled the beginning of a new era of baseball, said umpire Fieldin Culbreth, who presided over the review: (via ESPN.com)

"I'm looking at this thing as, this is the future of the game. And I'm going to treat these games here the same way that I'm going to treat them during the regular season," Culbreth said.

Minnesota Twins' Brian Dozier, bottom, is called out by third base umpire Angel Hernandez after Dozier over slid third base trying to advance on a throwing error by Miami Marlins catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia during the first inning of an exhibition spring training baseball game Tuesday, March 4, 2014, in Jupiter, Fla. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Tuesday, a challenged play in a contest between the Rangers and Angels took just 90 seconds to sort out. Rangers manager Ron Washington said "it won't always be that easy," but with additional camera angles and a practiced routine, it seems challenges will soon be a normal occurrence.

However, Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci doesn't believe replays will be as common as you might think, and MLB provided the statistics to back it up. According to MLB, in 2,431 games last season, only seven calls on a "catch or no catch" play in the outfield would have been overturned by a review.

In total, umpires missed 377 calls last season for an average of one blown call per 6.4 games. So it turns out umpires are great at what they do. Yet, Verducci isn't minimizing the positive effect expanded replay will have on baseball, even for games that have no calls overturned by replay:

The use of expanded replay is the best thing to happen to baseball since ballpark nachos. Baseball now has the ability to get most calls right. Replay does away with the shame of a ballgame being decided by an obvious blown call and the resultant ignominy for the umpire (Denkinger, Garcia, Joyce, et al). It also allows the paid customer in the stands to finally see what the couch potato does, because while a play is under review, teams are permitted for the first time to show replays on the video board from the home television feed.

The advent of expanded replay throws a new wrinkle of strategy for teams to best take advantage of their one challenge per game. To aid in this, teams are allowed a designated "replay adviser" to be in charge of watching each play and determining in real-time if his/her team should challenge the play. The protocol is still very much a work in progress, but teams are hiring their replay coordinators and laying out a framework for how the process will work.

The Indians hired former minor league pitcher, coach and manager Gregg Langbehn as their replay coordinator. Indians manager Terry Francona said that during games, timely communication will be key and the procedure will depend on the specific game situation: (via Cleveland.com)

"I won't call him because if there's something going on, I've got to go out on the field," said Francona. "In some instances, where it's the third out of an inning, you need to go out to show the umpire you're thinking about it (challenging the call). If you don't, you lose your chance.

"There's some learning to do for sure."

Watch umpire Brian Gorman discuss the challenges and potential impact of the new replay system with Fox Sports analyst Gabe Kapler:

This is a 2014 photo of Ian Kinsler of the Detroit Tigers baseball team. This image reflects the Tigers active roster as of Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014 when this image was taken at spring training in Lakeland, Fla. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Kinsler bitter about breakup with Rangers

Now with the Tigers after eight seasons as a Ranger, Ian Kinsler spoke out about how he ended up in Detroit for an article in an upcoming issue of ESPN The Magazine. Kinsler's new beginning as a Tiger started with a one-for-one trade that sent slugger Prince Fielder to Texas, but the saga that led up to it was many months in the making.

It began with the Rangers shopping and eventually trading Michael Young, the undisputed face of the franchise and leader in the clubhouse. Kinsler didn't care for the move and things only deteriorated from there. In the end, Kinsler heard about his being traded to the Tigers in a text from a Dallas radio personality.

The ordeal left Kinsler with a host of frustrations toward Rangers general manager Jon Daniels, who Kinsler referred to as a "sleazeball" in an interview with ESPN's Robert Sanchez.

"He [Daniels] got in good with the owners and straight pushed Ryan out. He thought all the things he should get credit for, Ryan got credit for. It's just ego. Once we went to the World Series, everybody's ego got huge, except for Nolan's."

Kinsler said he will miss his teammates and manager Ron Washington, but his feelings for the organization as a whole speaks much louder:

"To be honest with you, I hope they go 0-162. I got friends, and I love my friends, but I hope they lose their (expletive)."

"I thought that was a little ridiculous. Seems a little childish, but that's what's written," he said. "There's nothing I can say to reverse that or reverse people's opinions. It is what it is." ...

As for the comment in which he reportedly said he hopes the Rangers "go 0-162" this season and "lose their (expletive)," Kinsler said it was meant as a joke.

"I've told that to my ex-teammates to their face," he said. "It's not anything new to them."

In this Monday, Feb. 10, 2014 file photo, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke throws during spring training baseball practice in Glendale, Ariz. It wouldn't bother Zack Greinke if he didn't have to travel for the Los Angeles Dodgers; opener against Arizona in Australia. "I would say there is absolutely zero excitement about it," was quoted as saying in a story by ESPNLosAngeles.com last weekend. "There just isn't any excitement to it. I can't think of one reason to be excited for it." (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

"She was lying in bed on her stomach watching TV, and when I went to put her to bed, I kind of lunged at her," Stewart said. "I don't know if I scared her, or what, but she sat up and our heads came together at the same time, my nose to the back of her head.

"I heard a crunchy sound and got an immediate headache. I thought I broke my nose. She just looked at me and laid back down."

Chicago Cubs' Starlin Castro connects for a base hit against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of a spring training baseball game, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Around the Horn

• Every season there are unproven players with newfound lofty expectations. Sports Illustrated found five players that fit the mold and will be a big part of their teams' success or failure this season. One such player is Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro, who played well in 2012 but managed a season of career-lows in 2013.

• Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia lost a few pounds in the offseason, but that's not all he's getting used to living without. Sabathia's fastball has dropped from an average of 94 mph in 2009 to 91 in 2013, and didn't get above 88 mph Saturday in his first appearance of the spring. The good news for Sabathia is he has former Yankee great Andy Pettitte in his corner, who happens to have gone through the same transition. (via NJ.com)

"CC's got everything it takes to be successful," said Pettitte, who appeared with the Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field as a special guest instructor, throwing batting practice. "I mean, mentally. His pitches -- stuff-wise, look, when you're velocity isn't there, you have to rely a little bit more on movement and command and to be able to change speeds and do different things pitching.

"And he can do all those things. ... Now it's just time to go out there and pitch. It's not a big secret to it."

• Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson announced that 24-year-old pitcher Patrick Corbin will start against the Dodgers in Australia, one year after his first full season in the majors. Trevor Cahill will start for the Diamondbacks in Game 2. The Dodgers have not yet announced their starters for the season-opening series. (via NBCSports.com)